TELUS and The Globe and Mail have announced the launch of The Challenge, the second annual contest inviting Canadian small business owners to present their biggest business challenge for the opportunity to win a $100,000 grant from TELUS. Entrepreneurs across Canada are invited to submit entries and be judged by a panel that includes entrepreneurs and small business experts.

“The Challenge contest is part of TELUS’ commitment to help small businesses achieve their goals,” said Jim Senko, vice-president of Small and Medium Business Marketing at TELUS. “We are pleased to have teamed up with the Globe and Mail to support Canadian entrepreneurs in solving their business challenges.”

To enter the contest, entrants are asked to describe the following in an 800-word submission:

A challenge their business is currently experiencing (200 words)

A proposed solution to this challenge and how the $100,000 prize would help overcome that challenge (200 words)

An explanation of the results they expect to achieve (200 words)

A description of how their business incorporates the following values into their business:

community investment/commitment to charities

customer service

innovation (200 words)

The judging panel will review and shortlist submissions to four semi-finalists. The semi-finalists will be profiled in Report on Business in The Globe and Mail and online. The final winner will be selected in the fall of 2012 and will be awarded a $100,000 grant. Please see the Contest’s microsite for full details about how to enter and to read the contest rules and regulations (PDF).

“Our partnership with TELUS is an opportunity to recognize and support the Canadian small business community,” says Sean Stanleigh, Editor, Report on Small Business, The Globe and Mail. “Innovation and entrepreneurial spirit are key to strengthening and growing the Canadian economy, and we look forward to profiling their business challenges with our readers in the weeks and months to come.”

Evan Carmichael – entrepreneur and international speaker, acts as mentor and business consultant to future entrepreneurs

Last year, more than 800 Canadian small business owners entered the contest. The winner, Sandberg Labs, an agricultural testing lab in Lethbridge, invested in new equipment and the owners reorganized the layout of their lab to improve workflow and save time.

“Winning TELUS’ 2011 Challenge gave us the resources we needed to overcome a challenge every business wants – too much demand,” said Angela Quinton, Co-Owner, Sandberg Labs. “The generous grant allowed us to switch from a chemical-heavy process for testing organic matter in soil, to a chemical-free method. And, in our busiest month of the year, we increased productivity and business by nearly 20 per cent!”

Canadians and fellow small business owners can join the conversation and follow the contest on Twitter via @TELUSBusiness and @GlobeSmallBiz using the hashtag #challengecontest, as well as on Facebook. The contest closes May 28, 2012.